Precision measurements with multi-TeV energy jets

Inclusive jet production cross-section as a function of jet transverse momenta in six ranges of the jet rapidity. The statistical uncertainties are smaller than the size of the symbols used to plot the cross-section values. The shaded areas show the experimental systematic uncertainties. Theoretical predictions are compared to the data, where the open yellow boxes indicate the theoretical predictions with their uncertainties. (Image: ATLAS Experiment/CERN)

The strong force is one of the four fundamental interactions of Nature. It governs the interactions between quarks and gluons, and is thus responsible for the stability of ordinary matter. In the proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, the strong force is seen in the production of collimated sprays of mesons and baryons, known as hadron jets.

The ATLAS Collaboration has released the measurement of the inclusive jet production cross sections at the new 13 TeV energy frontier. This measurement was made with an accuracy of a few percent, thanks to the novel jet energy calibration techniques used and the large sample of recorded events with jets in the final state.

This new measurement allows ATLAS physicists to probe the structure of the proton at distances ten thousand times smaller than its radius, providing new information on the proton content. It also probes the highest transverse momentum scales where new forces may reveal themselves.

The results are in very good agreement with theoretical prediction and set the scene for searches for new effects beyond the Standard Model.